Powdered pectin



atented Mar. 1, 1938 UNITED STATES PATEN OFFICE No Drawing. ApplicationJune 4, 1934, Serial No. 729,029-

3 Claims. (01. 99-432) This invention relates to pectous materials,

more particularly to a standardized powdered or dry pectin. I

Pectin, or vegetable gelatin so.called, is the jellifying constituent ofjams, jellies and marmalades. It occurs widely in the vegetable kingdom,as for example in apples, citrus fruits, beets,

carrots and the like. Oneof the largest and most economical sources ofpectin is apple pomace or mare, the solid apple residue remainin afterthe expression of the'apple juice.

At the present time,.pectin'is marketed as a concentrated liquid pectinand as a substantially pure dry product.

In marketing the dry powdered pectin; particularly in a householdpackage, it is customary to standardize the product, that is to say, toadjust the gel strength or ability of the given weight or quantity ofthe product to a predetermined gel strength so that with a givenquantity of material known amounts of sugar, fruit juices and/or fruitpulp may be employed and standard recipes may be used.

The necessity for standardizing arises largely from factors beyond thecontrol of the pectin manufacturer, such as the character'and degree ofmaturity of the fruit orvegetable which constitutes his startingmaterial. Thus, in practice, the pectin obtained from one batch of rawma terial may possess a gel strength of seventy; that is, a pectin ofsuch strength that one pound will set pounds of sugar, in the presenceof sufficient acid. Another batch of equal weight may produce a pectinof a gel strength of a higher or lower value. Hence, to market a productwhich may be employed in standard recipes, it is necessary to adjust thegel strength to a definite unit value per given mass of the material.

It has been the practice to standardize po'wdered pectin with, sugar.While this has been effective it introduces a relatively expensive stepin the process, particularly if a real attempt is made homogeneously todistribute the sugar in the pectin. Unless the sugar is wetted andsubsequently dried .so that the pectin is adhered to it. segregation orstratification of the sugar and pectin takes place.

I have found that pectin in the pure dry form may efiectively bestandardized without the use of sugar and with a material which forms auseful and advantageous component of the final jam or .jelly.

An object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a newmethod of standardizing pectin.

Another object is to provide a novel dry pectin product. 7

A further object is to standardize powdered pectin with materialsavailable at the pectin plant. 6

Yet another object is to provide a dry pectin product which improves thetexture of the conserve made therefrom.

With these and other equally important and related objects in view theinvention compre- 1 hends the concept .of standardizing powdered pectinwith a material which comprises "a useful component of the finalgelatinized product and one which furthermore is readily available atthe plant. In its morespecific aspects, the invention 15 comprises thepreparation of a specially purified fruit fiber and the incorporation ofthis in predetermined amounts with dry powdered pectin so as to producea standardized product.

In carrying out the present method, dry pow- 20 dered pectin is firstproduced. This may be' done in several difierent ways. As an example,apple pomace may be treated with cold water to remove all of the-watersoluble substances. After such leaching, the excess water may be removedas by pressing, centrifuging and the like. The residue may then besubjected to the action of a solvent which will remove all but thecellulosic fiber and the pectin. This may readily be done by treatingwith relatively dilute ethyl 30 alcohol. Such solvent removes theundesired constituents such as tannins, fruit acids, sugars, waxes andthe like.

To improve the speed and degree of extraction, the solvent may beutilized at elevated temperature.

After extraction, the mass is filtered or centrifuged to remove residualalcohol and if desired, the residue may be washed with fresh water oralcohol to completely free the pulp from 4 I under a temperature ofsixty pounds of steam. The solution produced in eithercase, whi h 55from the 'pulp. This may be solubilizing treatment and filtrationcomprises substantially pure fruit or vegetable cellulose since it hasbeen so treated that sugars, acids, tannins, waxes and the like as wellas pectins are removed. This material is naturally a constit ent of alljams, and forms a useful ingredient of any conserve since it givesa.body or texture to the jelly or jam. Since it is completely defiavoredand desugared;-it introduces no complications either in respect to thequantity or efiect of the sweetening and flavoring agents employedin'the actual manufacture of the jelly or jam.

In preparing this purified pulp for use as a standardizing medium, thefilter press residue is thoroughly dried and then reduced to any desireddegree of fineness. If desired, the particle size may be reduced tosubstantially colloidal dimensions as for example by trituratirig thepulp in a colloid mill andthen drying and finding the mass.

Such finely divided requisite quantity to fiber istheh added in the agiven massfof the pure dry pectin to bring the setting strength of anyunit mass to the desired point. The two materials may homogeneously beincorporated in any suitable miidngmachine.

If desired, before mixing the purified pulp, the

substance may be slightly wetted and after admixture with the powderedpectin, may be dried so that the pectin is uniformly distributed throughand adhered on the fibers. I It will be apparent that such a productpresents an ideal materialior a household package. it may be utilizedfor the preparation of jams. jellies and the like by incorporating it ina liquid mass containing frfiit flavors and/or pulp together with therequisite quantities of afcid and sugar.

It will be appreciated that the present process may be modified so as toproduce-standardized dry pectin having other characteristics. Thus. forexample, there may be incorporated in the mass a predetermined quantityof an'agent which will disperse the pectin when it is added to water tomake a jam or jelly,- althougli it is to be understoodthat the uniformlydistributed fibers themselves insure a degree of mechanical dispersionmethods to determine. its get pulp y The residue remaining after thepectin and this facilitates the solution of the pectin. If greaterdispersive characteristics are desired, the purified pulp, before finaldrying, may be wetted with a solution containing such a predetermined,amount of sugar as will eflectively disperse the pectin. Similarly, ifdesired, the final standardized product may contain a predeterminedamount of a suitable acid suchas' malic, tartaric, citric etc.,

so that upon making a jelly or jam from the product, it is necessaryonly to add the fruit juice and/or pulp and the requisite quantity ofsugar. In the manner known to those skilled in the art, be impregnatedwith the acid so as to be uniformly distributed through the standard-..ized mass. Likewise, other adiuvants may be included in the finalproduct such as gas evolving compounds or other similar substances whichfacilitate the dissolution of the pectin in the ultimate liquid mass. k

It will thus be seen that the present method insures improved and novelresults. The pectin may effectively be standardized with a feadilyavailable and cheap material which material, in addition to itsstandardizing function, also serves as a dispersive agent for thepectin. The standardizing material forms an advantageous component ofthe final jelly like product and, furthermore, forms an excellentcarrier material for theincorporation of sugar and/or acid in the finalproduct.

Therefore, while a preferred modification of the invention has beendescribed, it is to be understood that this is given merely to explainthe underlying principles involved. Thus, in lieu of ethyl alcohol, any.other-suitable solvent may be employed, such as methyl or hutyl alcohol,suiphuric ether, petroleum ether and the like. Also, thestahdardizingfibers may consist of citrus fruit or other fruit or vegetable fibers orany impregnated in the said fibers.

2. An article of commerce comprising a pure drypowdered pectinintimately mixed with a predetermined quantity of desugared,depectinized apple fibers which are impregnated with a predeterminedquantity of arr acid.

3. An article of commerce comprising a pure dry powdered pectinintimately mixed with a predetermined quantitytof desugared,'depectinized apple fibers, which fibers are impregnated with apredetermined quantity of a pectin dispersing agent and an acid.

WILLIAM A. ROCKER.

